Warren; Chief Executive Officer, Services Australia and (Freedom of information)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from a decision of the Australian Information Commissioner. The applicant sought access to documents held by Services Australia, which the Chief Executive Officer of Services Australia had refused to release. The Commissioner had affirmed this refusal, finding the documents to be conditionally exempt under section 47F of the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth) on the basis that their disclosure would involve an unreasonable disclosure of personal information.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the documents, specifically names and phone numbers, were conditionally exempt from disclosure under section 47F of the *Freedom of Information Act 1982*. This involved assessing whether the disclosure of this personal information would be an unreasonable disclosure of personal information of other persons, and whether the public interest favoured disclosure over the protection of personal information.

Deputy S A Forgie P reasoned that while the names and phone numbers constituted personal information, their disclosure would not necessarily be an unreasonable disclosure. The Tribunal considered the context of the documents and the nature of the information sought, finding that the public interest in transparency and accountability regarding government services outweighed the privacy concerns associated with the limited personal information requested. The Tribunal concluded that the Commissioner's decision was not justified and set it aside.

The Tribunal substituted its own decision, granting the applicant access to the documents.